Musings on food and life from Beth Bader, the co-author of The Cleaner Plate Club. Ingredients: original recipes, food policy insights, parenting fun, and a dash of humor.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

And Food Justice for All

I might have just stumbled into the local food movement just a few years back, but in the years since, the efforts here on my blog projects and in my daily life have brought me such rich experiences and some amazing sources of inspiration.

Most recently, I got to do an interview with Bryant Terry. He is the co-author of one cookbook, and is working on a second due out soon called Organic Soul. He has appeared on PBS and Sundance Channel and other shows. But what makes Terry inspiring to me is his work on "Food Justice." He's developed several programs that support sustainable, local foods for people who need access to healthy food and nutrition education. His efforts seek to empower people to make better food choices in their communities and to rise up to influence national and state policy.

You should take time to read the interview here and get inspired yourself. Food Justice is something we should all be working toward.

I guess if that is not enough to get you to click the link, the interview includes a damn fine recipe for Sweet Cornmeal-Coconut Butter Drop Biscuits. Man, I love soul food. And there just isn't enough places to get it near me. I am going to have to buy the book.

4 comments:

how do you make coconut butter? I have coconut cream; do you just leach off the liquid and use the solid? I could filter the liquid through very fine-grain cheesecloth... They sound absolutely divine - fascinating interview as well.

“Besides Nigella Lawson’s “How to Be a Domestic Goddess,” I can’t think of another cookbook that causes me to laugh out loud. From page one, I felt like I was sitting at my table with old friends. This isn’t just a cookbook: it’s an educational arsenal to wield your way with grace and dexterity through the carnival that is the modern American food system…Without increasing my weekly budget, I increased our vegetable consumption at our evening meals by two vegetable dishes a night. It was no longer a battle of eat your veggies,’ but a question of ‘which vegetable would you like to eat tonight?’”

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The Cleaner Plate Club offers simple solutions, recipes, meal suggestions, and tips to help parents get kids to eat good food and -- guess what? -- enjoy it. With humor and compassion, the authors show readers how to prepare real foods, plan ahead and estimate prep time, and get used to cooking food that doesn't come with printed directions. Their fresh advice will help parents eliminate food waste, plan for leftovers, present foods that are appealing to kids, and quit fighting with their children about food. The Cleaner Plate Club offers kid-tested recipes for every meal, basic vegetable preparations for farmers' market finds, and more healthful recipes for sweets and snacks. Readers will also find shopping strategies, the reasons kids like the foods they do, and vegetable profiles (including nutrition information and tips on selection, storage, and preparation). Expert advice and innovative ideas about feeding kids make this book a must-have for any parent. Fresh, funny, and nonjudgmental, The Cleaner Plate Club is a recipe for healthier kids and happier parents.